Promises
by LemonIsles
Summary: Rick is kidnapped and a young Aleixs grows very close to Kate while she works to find Castle. But what happens when Castle is found? How will their relationships pan out?
1. Chapter 1

Hey so I decided to start a new story! My other stories were like the first fanfic I've ever written and I didn't really have any idea where I was going with them. And I learned the hard way that its easier to pre write chapters so I'm always ahead of when I publish them. But I've been reading a lot of young Alexis stories and I really wanted to write one. It was actually really fun, me and my best friend write together sometimes so we planned it all out and I started to write. She probably will just weigh in on other storylines and stuff. Oh and thank you to FadingInTheNightSky who I could rattle some ideas off of and she also gave me an idea for this story like of how I wanted to start it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Castle, if I did, there would be Caskett babies!

* * *

It had been a quiet week, Kate was sitting at her desk just filling out others paperwork . It had been strange. While every other division was slammed with cases, there seemed to be a lull of homicide. They had completed a case 2 weeks ago and hadn't had one since. So they had all been assigned other paperwork from divisions that were too backed up to finish their paperwork.

"Beckett!" Espo came running up to her.

"Espo unless its a case, I don't want-"

"We got a case." He said a hint of excitement in his voice

"Really?!"

"Well its not really a homicide, more like a possible homicide." Kate stared back at him. "We got a call from a small child, said she was 3 and that her dad was taken and shes scared and she needs help."

"Oh my gosh." Kate said as she grabbed her coat and walked with Espo to the elevator.

"Look Beckett, since Ryans gone and were short I thought I would just stay here and get started on finding suspects and other family."

"Sure" Beckett said staring into space.

"I'll text you the address."

"K" She respond, he patted her shoulder and turned around.

* * *

She got there as fast as she could and ran up the stairs which she thought were faster to the sixth floor and walked up to his apartment. The door was open and she could hear sobs coming from inside. She slowly opened the door and saw a little head pop out from behind the kitchen island. The little girl quickly looked away when she saw Kate. Slowly walking up to her she knelt down to the little girl who had her head in her knees.

"Hi. I'm Kate."

"Please don't hurt me." She sobbed and curled up tighter.

"Oh sweetie, I'm here to help. I work for the police and I'm trying to find your dad." At that the redhead glanced up at her, stared into her eyes for a second and flung herself into Kate. Her sobs grew louder and louder. Kate didn't know what to do so they sat together on the floor and Kate held her as she rubbed her back. Once she was done crying Kate let her go.

"Can you tell me your name sweetie."

"Um Alexis"

"Alright Alexis, can you tell me exactly what happened?"

The little girl nodded. "I came downstairs, daddy and I were gonna go to the zoo today and there was this guy here and he was scary and he was shouting at daddy and I ran up to daddy but the scary man hit me and then he pushed me on the ground and took daddy away." She said as she pointed to the place where the man had hit her.

"Okay well the doctors are going to come and get you checked out and then we'll call your family."

"NO!"

"Alexis you're bleeding you need a band-aid to-"

"NO please don't call my mom. I don't want her to take me away." She whimpered as her bottom lip started to quiver.

"You need to stay with someone until we find your dad." Kate said as she rubbed the girls arm.

"I don't want her to take me away and she doesn't love me and she isn't any fun."

"Hey!" Kate interrupted. "I bet your mom loves you very much. But how about we worry about that later."

"K" Alexis said as she crawled back into Kates lap.

The paramedics came in with Espo and the other officers. Kate looked down at Alexis who was clinging onto her shirt.

One of the paramedics came over to Alexis and started to pull stuff out of his bag. Kate lifted Alexis out of her lap and started to stand until she felt little fingers wrap around hers.

"Please don't leave me." Kate looked down at the little girl. She had big blue eyes that were red and filled with tears.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to leave you." Seeing Alexis was still unsure she ended her sentence with a quick "I promise."

"Thank you." Alexis looked up at Kate with a sad smile.

"I just have to go talk to my partners and then I'll be right back okay?" Alexis nodded and Kate made her way over to Espo. "So, what did you find?"

"Man abducted was Richard Castle, that mystery writer guy." Kates stomach twisted. Richard Castle, the Richard Castle the ones whose books had kept her going after her mother was murdered, the Richard Castle who signed her book and said that she had beautiful eyes, the Richard Castle with whose daughter she had just spent the past half hour with.

"Oh ya, I've um hear of him, anything else?"

"Went through a pretty nasty divorce about a year ago with a Meredith Castle, only other family is his daughter Alexis Castle and his mother Martha Rodgers." Kate sighed. "I'm assuming that little girl over there is Alexis. I can get started on calling family."

Kate knew the little girl didn't want to call her mother but Kate thought it would be better than her ending up in the system if her dad wasn't found.

"Ya. Um call his mother first and then his ex-wife."

"You got it boss." Espo went back to talk to the other officers who were taking pictures and samples. Kate made her way over to the little girl. The paramedic had bandged her cut.

"She seemed to have sustained no other injuries besides the nasty scrape which will heal in no time." He said as he pulled a lollipop out of his pocket and gave it to Alexis.

She took the lollipop gave him a sad smile and lifted her arms up to Kate. Kates heart fluttered. Grabbing her under arms, Kate picked her up and balanced heron one hip. Alexis held the lollipop out for her to take.

"You can have it."

"You don't want it?" Kate asked.

"No, this is for coming to get me and making me feel a little better and helping to find my daddy."

Kates stomach knotted up.

"Thank you so much Alexis." Kate said as she took the lollipop in her hand. Alexis laid her head on Kate's shoulder burying her face in Kates hair. Kate glanced down at her. She knew she had to get back to the precinct. They were short already. "Would you like to come back to work with me." Kate asked softly. Alexis nodded

"Please don't leave me." She yawned.

"I promise, I'm not going anywhere." Kate whispered as they walked out the door

* * *

Once they arrived at the precinct, Kate laid the fast asleep girl on the couch and she sat at the table next to her going through the case files. So far they couldn't get a hold of either Martha or Meredith though they had left numerous messages.

And they had no leads on any suspects. Sighing, she glanced over at the red-head. The steady rise and fall of her chest, her hair splayed all over the pillow, her little hands tucked under her head.

"Hey Beckett." Espo whispered as he walked in glancing over at the little girl fast asleep.

"Hey, found anything?" Kate asked

"Ya brought in his publisher for questioning which I need you for and then we can go through phone records."

"Okay, um, shes here now, the publisher?" Espo nodded. "Okay well I'll get an officer to keep an eye on her." She said as she glanced over at Alexis.

"Alright then lets go," Espo said as he pushed out of the room and motioned for one of the officers to come over and told him to keep an eye on the kid inside.

The woman brought in was gorgeous. She had blonde hair, an amazing figure. Kate watched her through the interrogation room window, observing her as she glanced around and looked down at her phone.

"Alright, lets do this." She said to herself as she left Espo to watch from behind the window

"Ms, Cowell." She said as she glanced down at the file. "I'd like to ask you a few questions about Richard Castle."

"Oh RIcky, ya I've like called a billion times and he's not picking up his phone. Where is he because we have a meeting tonight with-"

"Ms. Cowell, he's missing."

"Oh well, then find him."

"Thats what we're trying to do." Kate said not breaking eye contact.

"Then if why do you need to see me?"

"When was the last time you talked to richard."

"We talked about 3 days ago about the meeting today."

"And did anything seem off about him?"

"Not really. But he tried to cancel the meeting, said he had something important to do."

"Do you know what this important thing was?"

"No, I only get involved if its going to effect the press and he said this was just something his daughter had at school so I dropped the subject."

Kate sighed. "Okay, thanks, just stay close, we might have some more questions to ask you."

"Can I leave now?" She said sassily

"Yes, well have a cop escort you out."

"Oh no need, I know my way around."

Kate glanced back at her, she would do a check on her. And with that she walked out to talk to Espo.

"So?"

"It could be but I don't think she had anything to do with it. But lets find out who he called over the last few days, see if we can find out what he was doing."

"On it." Espo said as they started to hear shrieks. An officer ran out to Kate.

"Shes calling for you. We can't get her to calm down."

Kate sighed. This little girl had already gotten attached to her and she had gotten attached to Alexis. Where is this going? Kate wondered


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 done! Hope your enjoying!**

**Disclaimer: I do Not own Castle, if I did, there would be Caskett babies!**

* * *

Kate walked into the break room to find Alexis curled up in the corner of the couch sobbing, refusing to let anyone touch her.

"Hey, Alexis." Kate said as she sat down next to the girl. She didn't look up.

"I want Katie!"

"I'm right here sweetie." She said as the redhead glanced up at her and lunged herself into Kate's lap. Taking deep breaths, Kate looked down at the little girl. What was going to happen tonight?

"When I was woke up, you were gone. I thought you left me."

"Sweetie, I promised, I'm not going to leave you. I just have to try and find your daddy to so I was talking to his publisher to see if she knew anything."

"Gina?" Kate smiled and nodded at the girl until she realized there were tears in her eyes. "Please don't make me go with her!"

"What?" Kate asked.

"Well I know my mommy isn't going to come and Grams is busy so Gina is sometimes someone who I've stayed with because she and daddy were married once like daddy and mommy."

Kate sighed. She knew she couldn't choose who she stayed with, that would have been Rick's choice and would be listed under emergency contacts. "I don't know what's going to happen, okay?" She said as she saw Alexis face fall. "But… I will always be here for you."

"Always?"

"Always."

"Thank you Katie." She said as she snuggled into Kate and started to drift off.

Holding the little girl, Kate leaned back and closed her eyes resting her head on the back of the couch.

Kate hadn't realised she had fallen asleep until Espo had woken her up.

"Hey Kate." He said as he nudged her, careful not to wake the little girl.

"Hmm, ya." Kate slowly opened her eyes and yawned.

"I got a hold of his ex-wife."

"Oh?"

"Ya, and she said she wants to talk to you."

"Umm," kate said glancing down at Alexis.

"I can send her through to the line in here."

Kate nodded as she took hold of the phone Espo had given her and waited for the woman to be sent through.

"Hello?" She heard from the other end of the call.

"Hi, Meredith?"

"Ya?"

"I'm calling on behalf of Richard Castle. I'm assuming you got our messages earlier?"

"Oh no." Meredith laughed. "I've been so busy shopping and getting ready to shoot I turned my phone off. Whats this about Ricky? Some event he needs me to come to?"

"No, actually he's missing."

"Oh." She said. No tone in her voice what-so-ever. "And Alexis?" She asked Kate thought rather calmly.

"She's right here with me."

"So shes fine and shes with the police?"

"Yes but-"

"Then she'll be fine. Next time you have any questions, why don't you call his mother. I have to go now. Toodles!" Meredith said as she hung up.

Kate sat there with her mouth open. She didn't realize the redhead was watching until she felt her move.

"Was that mommy?"

"Yes it was."

"Is she coming?"

"No honey, I'm sorry."

"Thats okay. I wanna rather stay with you."

Kate glanced down unsure of what to say next and lay her hands on the girls back, wrapping her arms protectively around the girl. "We'll see what happens." Kate replied.

* * *

After the girl had fallen asleep, Kate went back out to find Esposito.

"Sitting with Alexis, it got me thinking, is there anything on his father?"

"Not in his file, but I can pull up his birth certificate." Espo said as he began typing. "Says here Jackson Hunt but he's not showing up on any records and i can't find anything on him. It's like he dropped off the face of the Earth."

"Okay, so his father is missing, the family and friends we've talked to haven't shown much concern in his disappearance except for his daughter and we have no suspects"

"How about I try and dig up something on Jackson Hunt. Maybe he took his son wanting to have a relationship with him or, or, payback?!"

"On who, Martha?"

"You never know!"

"Alright, see if you can find anything. What about phone records?"

"Yes, the last call he made was to Martha which doesn't seem suspicious but he did make numerous calls to this number." Espo said pointing at the screen.

"Have you been able to trace it?"

"Nope. Its a burner phone."

"Alright than. You take care of Hunt and I'll find who was calling him. And Espo." She added grabbing his arm before he could walk away. "I'm sorry I haven't been much help."

"Hey, you just take care of that little girl, that's more than enough help."

Kate smiled as she went to grab her laptop and sat back down on the couch as Alexis started to wake up. The redhead glanced around quickly scanning for Kate. Her soft blue eyes landed on Kates and she smiled. Scooting closer, the girl laid her head against Kate's shoulder.

"Hey sleepy head."

"Hi. Can we do something? I'm bored."

"Already? You just woke up?" Kate asked comically. "How about we find a movie to watch. Kate said as she stood up and grabbed the remote searching for a Disney until she heard Alexis shriek.

"Tangled! That one that one! Go back." She said as Kate switched back a chanel. "This ones my favorite. I know all the songs!"

"Can't wait to hear him. I'm gonna work but I'll be sitting right next to you okay?"

"Okay." Alexis said as she snuggled into Kate and started watching.

Kate began to look for some kind of clue from the burner phone. She couldn't find who it was traced back to but she was able to find where it was called from. She tapped into security cameras and found who the call had come from.

At that moment she felt Alexis stir and she realized there was no sound. The movie had ended. She had no idea what she was going to do with the girl. She had to try and find Rick but she didn't want to leave the girl with some stranger.

"Kate," The girl said tugging at Kate's blouse. "It's over. Can we go get something to eat? I'm starving." The girl said dramatically.

"Sure. I just have to go tell Espo what I found."

"About my daddy?"

"Yes."

"Can I know?"

"Well." kate hesitated. "It was a phone call that your dad made."

"To who?"

"Thats what I'm going to give Espo to figure out."

"Do you think he could have taken my daddy?"

For a three year old, this girl could follow her story pretty well which surprised Kate. "Yes it could have been."

"Oh." Alexis jumped off the couch and grabbed Kate's hand as they made their way to Espo. Giving him all the information, Kate and Alexis made their way to lunch. Kate thought this would be a good time to bring up where she would go tonight.

"So Alexis, we need to talk." Kate began. "We need to find you somewhere to sleep tonight."

"I already know Katie." Alexis giggled.

"Oh do you?"

"Ya, with you." Kate's stomach dropped.

"Well, um." Kate didn't know where to go with this. "You go to like preschool right?"

"Ya! 3 days a week! We read stories and do art." She started to explain.

"Do you get to hang out with your friends there?" Kate began to hint at.

"Ya, my best friend Paige and I like to build castles out of the big building blocks and shes really good at drawing so she teaches me."

"So what would you think of having a sleepover with Paige?"

Alexis face fell "You mean instead of you?"

"Yes but, I could come drop you off and pick you up in the morning and then you can spend the whole day with me."

Alexis looked at her reluctantly. "Do you want me to go to Paiges?"

"I think you would have a LOT of fun." Kate said smiling crossing her fingers. And of course she wanted Alexis to come home with her but the girl couldn't become too attached to Kate and if something happened to Rick, she needed to make sure the girl would be comfortable with the people around her.

"Okay. You promise that you would come if I needed you?"

"I promise." Kate smiled.

"I'll try it." Alexis quietly replied.

"Alright then, lets go pack a bag and then I can take you over to Paiges."

"Already?"

"Ya, you guys can hang out and then you can get comfortable and I need to work on finding your dad."

* * *

Kate and Alexis packed a bag, Kate found the phone number of Paiges mom and she dropped Alexis off who gave her a big warm hug before she left. Kate made her way back to the precinct to talk to Espo.

"Alright, so the red head is at a friends house for the night. Did you find anything?"

"Yes alot actually." Espo said as he lead her over to his desk and grabbed a file.

"Who is this?" kate asked glancing at the file.

"His name is Jason Lane."

"It says here that he's a P.I.?"

"Yup."

"What would Richard Castle be calling a P.I for?"

"I had the same question."

* * *

**Alright so another chapter done! Thanks so much for all the reviews and follows and favorites, it really surprised me how many people followed in like the first 4 hours. I'm really liking this story! Okay so really early on, there was a line that Alexis said and it is incorrect grammar but do remember she is three so I did it on purpose. I want to try and make it different that the other young Alexis stories and since most of the kidnapping ones have been where Alexis is kidnapped I thought I would change it up and make Rick be the one. I love writing Alexis/Kate scenes so theres going to be a lot of that. And I'm not sure when I'm going to have Rick come back but I'm not going to have him die. I think. That'll maybe be a different story. And I still haven't really decided who Castles kidnapper is. Oh and I wrote in the first Meredith scene. I kinda wanted to make her seem like a b #$% so let me know what you think of her! Anyway enjoy, don't forget to review!**


	3. Chapter 3

"_What would Richard Castle be calling a P.I for?"_

"_I had the same question."_

"So can you find this guy?" Kate asked.

"Ya I can tomorrow."

"But-"

"Beckett, it's late. You need to go home. You've had a crazy day. Especially because you're gonna be hangin out with mini Castle tomorrow."

Beckett sighed. She knew he was right but she just couldn't keep her mind of Alexis. If Rick had been kidnapped could that mean that they could kidnap her? But she knew she had to stop worrying. She was with her best friend and a mom. Which Kate was not. She didn't know what to do or how to take care of a child. And there were guards posted outside the building. She would be fine Kate tried to convince herself.

* * *

Yawning Kate made her way to the car and drove home. Jumping in the shower she glanced at the clock sitting on her bathroom sink. 2:47. She had to be up in 4 hours. Looks like she wasn't getting a lot of sleep tonight. She began to wash the suds out of her hair when she heard the phone ring.

Quickly jumping out of the shower, she grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her body not paying attention to her dripping wet hair and practically sprinted into the kitchen.

"Hello?" She panted.

"Hi is this Katherine Beckett?"

"This is she."

"I'm Paige's mother, Amanda."

"Oh hi whats up? Is everything okay?"

"No, shes been up the past two hours and she's sobbing and I can't get her to go back to sleep."

"Um, I don't-"

"Shes asking for you."

"What?" Kate asked quietly.

"She says she wants Katie, I'm assuming thats you and I tried to tell her that she would see you tomorrow but she says she won't go to sleep until she sees her Katie and Paige and my son have school tomorrow and I wouldn't ask unless it was the last option but could you come pick her up."

"I don't think.. I should…"

"Trust me, this kid isn't going to sleep until she at least sees you."

"Ya okay, um just get her ready to go and I'll be there in about 15 minutes."

"Alright, thank you so much."

"Oh ya, thank you for taking her in the first place. I know it was kinda last minute."

"Course, anything for Alexis."

"Alright be there soon."

She hung up, quickly rinsed out her hair and threw on a sweatshirt and some leggings. Quickly running to her car Kate. Parking in front of the house she came running up, hesitated for a moment and knocked on the door which almost opened immediately.

Alexis was in the arms of Amanda and she was sobbing.

"Katie."

"Oh Alexis." She said as the little girl reached out to Kate.

"I want to go home."

"Shh. You're okay."

"I want my daddy."

"I know you do. Hey, how about you have a sleepover with me tonight?" Kate asked as she smiled down at the redhead.

"Where?"

"Well, we could go to my house of we could go to yours and you could sleep in your own bed."

"With you?"

"I'll stay with you until you fall asleep."

"I don't want to go back to our apartment yet. What if the bad man comes back?"

"He won't, because I'll be there. But if you'd rather, we can go sleep at my place."

Alexis hesitated for a moment. "Your house."

Kate nodded as she took Alexis's bag from Amanda and buckled Alexis into the car. As they were driving home, Kate heard the sound of the girls sniffles get quieter and quieter until she looked back and saw that the girl had fallen asleep. Gently lifting her out of the car and balancing her on one hip with the girls bag in her other hand, she made her way up to her apartment. Carefully setting the girl down in her bed, she went to brush her teeth and change.

Carefully lifting up the covers, Kate slid into bed. She watched the girl sleep. Her chest rise and fall, the red hair splayed all over the pillows. Kate sighed and closed her eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep.

* * *

She was woken with a phone call. Glancing at the clock, she almost jumped up but then felt a weight atop her chest. Glancing down, she saw the redhead had found her way into Kates side and her head was resting on Kate's chest. Kate reached for her phone and quietly answered

"Yo Beckett, where have you been, its almost 11 and you're not in?"

"Alexis."

"Oh then take as long as you need, but chica, I found something on Jason Lane."

"Great, I'll be in in a bit."

"Sure."

Setting her phone down, she sighed and glanced down at the sleeping girl who was starting to stir. Kate stayed quiet thinking she was waking up but when she felt a foot whack her in the leg, she knew the girl was having a nightmare.

"hey, Alexis." She said whilst carefully jostling the girl.

"Daddy!" The girl cried out as she jumped up.

"Hey, its me, Kate, I'm right here." She said as she pulled the girl back down and Alexis cuddled into her side. "Was that a nightmare?" She felt the girl nod. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"The man was there."

"Who?"

"The man who took daddy."

"Did you see what he looked like?"

"Ya." Kate waited for her to finish. "He had greyish white hair and a little beard."

"Was he as tall as your dad?"

"Close." Alexis replied.

"Its okay, hes not going to hurt you."

"Promise?"

"Always."

* * *

After Kate dropped a reluctant Alexis off at preschool, she made her way to the precinct.

"Espo? Found anything on that P.I.?"

"Ya, we brought him in this morning. Said he was investigating someone."

"Who?"

"He wouldn't say."

"Okay, you working on a search warrant?"

"Already filled in for one."

"Okay um, Alexis told me about this dream she had and she described the man who took her."

"Thats great!"

"Here," Kate said handing him a slip of paper. Esop read it off "Greyish hair, beard about same height as Richard."

"Can you do anything with that?"

"I'll see what I can do. Oh and we got a call from Martha Rodgers."

"His mother?"

"Ya, said she was getting on the first flight out and she'd be here in the next few hours."

"How long ago did she call?"

"Few hours. She should be showing up any minute."

Kate sighed. She knew Alexis would have to go home with Martha. Even though it was good, Kate didn't want to give up Alexis.

"Is that her?" Kate asked as she saw the back of a redhead.

"Would explain Alexis's hair."

"I'll go talk to her." Kate said as she walked up to the woman. "Hi, i'm detective Beckett we got your call about-" The woman turned around. This couldn't be his mother. She was far too young. Kate connected the dots. "You're Alexis mother, um Meredith."

"Yes, Martha gave me a call and said that she was stuck in Florida with bad weather and if I didn't come it would break Rickys heart so I thought I could come for a day. No where is my daughter?"

"Shes as school right now."

"Then lets go."

"Excuse me?" Kate asked

"I need to go get Alexis and I don't have a car, so you can drive me."

"Umm, I just need to talk to my partner."

"Don't be long dear."

Kate nodded with a nervous giggle. "Espo." She whispered as she pulled Espo into the break room.

"Was that Martha?"

"NO, Meredith."

"Ex-wife?"

"Yes!"

"We need to question her."

"Alexis."

"Oh, um how about I go pick Alexis up and you take her in interrogation."

"I'll get Alexis." Espo glared at her. "I promised." Kate whined. Espo laughed.

"Alright, I'll go grab Meredith."

Kate avoided Merediths harsh glare as she made her way to the elevator. Standing in the elevator, she fidgeted as she watched Meredith as the doors closed. She hadn't taken her eyes off Kate.

* * *

"C'mon ms. Castle."

"That bitch should not be going to pick up my daughter."

"Ma'am you daughter will be just fine with detective Beckett. I just want to talk to you about Richard."

"Fine." Meredith gave in as Epso lead her into the interrogation room.

"So, whens the last time you talked to mr. Castle."

"About four months ago. I was going to come see him and Alexis but I got a callback so I decided to cancel."

Espo sighed. She wasn't going to be much help. "Well did you ever talk to Alexis? Did anything seem off about her?"

"The last time I talked to Alexis was when I talked to Rick." She explained as she waited for Epso to respond. "Are we done here?" She asked impatiently.

"Yes. You can wait out in our break room until Beckett brings Alexis back."

* * *

Meanwhile, Kate had made her way to Alexis preschool. She signed into the front desk which was a pain since she technically wasn't family but once she pulled out her badge they let her right in. Walking down the small halls, Kate made her way to Alexis's classroom. She glanced in through the window. They were all sitting in a circle. Alexis was sitting next to Paige and the girls hands were intertwined. Kate smiled as she slowly pulled open the door. The teacher turned around.

"Can I help-" before she could finish, the redhead had jumped up and had now sprinted her way over to Kate, tightly wrapping her arms around Kates legs.

"Hey bud." Kate said she picked up the lightweight child. "I got someone back at the station who wants to see you!"

"Who? Daddy? Grams?"

"No, sweetie, it's not your dad." the girls face fell. "You'll see when we get there."

Kate glanced back up realizing that all eyes were on her.

"Does she need to go? I can go grab her bag if you need-" the teacher began.

"Ya that would be great. I'm so sorry to interrupt." Kate apologised.

"No problem, we'll do anything for Alexis, especially now." She said as she lowered her voice. "Bye Alexis." She waved as she handed Kate her bag.

"Bye Ms. Holly."

Kate listened as Alexis told her everything about her day on the car ride back to the precinct. As they pulled up Kate opened the door. Alexis jumped out and held her arms up to Kate. Kate giggled as she picked her up.

"Will you tell me now whos here to see you?" Alexis whined.

"Just wait." Kate said. She wasn't sure how the girl would react. Kate thought she would be excited since none of her family was here but those words that Alexis had said earlier rang through her head. "Shes in there." Kate said as she sat the redhead down. Alexis grabbed her hand as the walked into the break room. Alexis smiled as she looked up at Kate but Alexis's smile quickly fell as she saw her mother sitting there.

"Alexis!" Meredith said as she came up to give the girl a hug.

"Mom." Alexis quietly said as she looked jpu at Kate, her eyes starting to fill with tears.

* * *

**Yay! Another chapter. Oh my gosh you guys I've been so busy. I'm writing like 3 essays for school and we have finals coming up. I'm so stressed! But writing this always helps. My original plan was to add Martha but then I was like screw it, lets put Meredith in there. I now realize that Ricks kidnapping is going rather slowly so I'm trying to speed it up but I'm not really good at writing crime kinda stories. Anyways, thank you so much for all the reviews! They motivate me to write more so keep them coming! Let me know what you think and if Martha should come back soon or later.**

**Jenny!**


	4. Chapter 4

"_Alexis!" Meredith said as she came up to give the girl a hug._

"_Mom." Alexis quietly said as she looked jpu at Kate, her eyes starting to fill with tears._

"How about you and me go out for lunch, we can go shopping and then you can come back to my hotel and we can have a sleepover."

Alexis glanced up at Kate. Unsure what to do. "Can Kate come?"

"No." Meredith quickly responded.

"But I don't want to go without Kate."

"Sweetie, Kate has to work. She's working to find Ricky."

Alexis glanced up at Kate who tried to give the little girl a reassuring smile.

"Mommy?" Meredith looked back to Alexis. "Can we come back once after were done with lunch and stuff."

Meredith sighed. "Sure. Well need to get your stuff from Kate anyway if you're staying with me tonight."

Alexis nodded at her mother and came to wrap her arms around Kates legs. Kate picked her up and began to whisper in her ear. "If you need anything, I'll always be here."

"Always?" Alexis asked.

"Always." Kate responded, planting a kiss on Alexis head. Setting her down, Meredith grabbed the reluctant childs hand and Kate watched as they walked out of the precinct.

Espo stuck his head in. "We've got something. Hey, wheres red?"

"She went out with her mother."

"Oh, alright, anyways, Jackson Hunt doesn't seem to be this guys real name."

"Like an alias?"

"Thats what I was thinking."

"So have you found anything out about his true identity?"

"No but we've got records that a Jackson Hunt recently checked into a hotel about two hours from here."

"Does anything show he lives here?"

"I wouldn't think so since he rented a hotel."

"Well then, I think we need to pay a visit to this Jackson Hunt."

Espo smiled as he grabbed his jacket and followed Kate out of the precinct.

Making their way up to his room number, which the check-in people had easily given the information, Kate knocked on the door.

"Jackson Hunt NYPD open up!"

There was a loud crash, the sound of glass shattering.

"Mr. Hunt open this door!"

She nodded at Espo. Swiftly kicking the door down, Espo and Kate made their way in.

Kate walked through the living room, kitchen and dining room. The house was a mess. Papers spread everywhere.

Espo found her looking at everything spread across the dining room table. "Clear."

"Same. Let's get CSRU in here. See if we can pull any prints or anything in these papers" Kate said as she picked up a small piece that had been torn.

"Whatcha got chica?"

"Looks like a number." Kate said pulling out her phone.

"Disconnected." Kate said with disappointment as she put down the piece of paper.

"I can try and trace it. See who and where it came from."

"Thats sounds good." Kate yawned. "Once we get back I think I'll try and call Martha when we get back to the precinct."

"And then you can go home and rest."

"I'm fine."

"Beckett, you've been taking care of Alexis. This case. It's too much, you need to go home and rest."

"But-"

"No. I'll talk to Gates. She'll give you the rest of the day off trust me."

Kate sighed. "Fine. But Martha?"

"Tomorrow. Just go home and catch up on sleep."

"See you tomorrow then." Kate said as she made her way back to her apartment. Too tired to make it to her bed she crashed on the couch. Kate only woke up when she got a phone call.

"Hello?"

"Hi Kate, its Amanda again."

"Oh hi, um whats up?"

"It's Alexis."

"Oh god, is she okay?"

"Ya but, um, Meredith came and dropped her off on our front doorstep. Said she got called in for an audition and she had to go."

"I'll be there. Is she okay?"

"Paige is trying to distract her but I fear it won't be long until she breaks down."

"Just give me 10 minutes." Kate said as she grabbed her coat and made her way to Paiges.

Kate nearly knocked down the door when nobody answered at first.

"Kate."

"Hey. Where is she?" Kate asked stepping inside.

"In Paige's room. Second door on the left." Amanda said as she pointed Kate in the direction of Paiges room.

Kate quickly made her way down the hall to find Alexis sitting quietly coloring. Although it seemed she was coloring everything but the paper.

"Alexis." Kate said as she carefully stepped inside.

"Katie!" Alexis said as she ran up to the brunette and wrapped her arms around Kate's neck as Kate picked her up.

"Hi Paige." Kate said acknowledging the other girl.

"Hi Ms. Kate." Kate smiled at the blonde and looked back to the redhead.

"I'm so sorry Alexis."

"Why?"

"That your mom left. I know she's the only family you have here and you probably would have been more comfortable with her."

"Oh, its okay that mommy left. I wanted to stay with you anyway but mommy said I shouldn't be around you that you're a bad, a bad um fluence?

"Influence?"

"Ya thats what she said."

Kate sighed. "Well then it looks like well be staying back at my house tonight. How about we go out and do something. Unless you would rather stay here with Paige."

"No we can go. Can we go down to the water and we can eat at my favorite restaurant and watch the water?"

"Sure."

As Kate and Alexis sat down at a booth at the restaurant Kate looked around. What caught her eye was a shipping container. She squinted so see there were letters and numbers on the containers. Taking out her phone she glanced at the picture. It read MAC 365-087-2495. She glanced up at the container. It read MAC 365-087-2489. Close. What if? She thought.

"Hey Lexis, I'm gonna call Javier okay."

"Okay." Alexis said happily munching on her fries and slurping her strawberry milkshake which she had chosen after Kate had said it was her favorite.

"Hey Espo."

"Whats up chica?"

"That number we found."

"Ya?"

"I don't think it's a phone number."

"What else would it be?"

"I'm down by the water and there's a shipping container dock nearby and the numbers and letters, they were too close to be a coincidence. Get a warrant and head on over there and tell me what you can find."

"Alright."

Espo drove up with Ryan who had just gotten home a few hours ago. Ryan pulled out the binoculars and looked for the correct numbers.

"There." He pointed out.

"Let's head in." Epso said as they made their way out of the car. Ryan grabbed the lock clippers and they both drew their guns. Glancing around Espo gave him the signal and Ryan clipped the lock. The both pushed open the door. Espo grabbed a flashlight and turned it on. They both glanced at the body lying in the corner. Unconscious but still breathing.

"Call Beckett."

**Hey guys, so I broke my computer and all my files were saved on there and I got it fixed but all my story parts were lost so I had to rewrite this one and now I have no more pre written chapters! So sorry this took a little longer. I also have finals and I'm really trying to write, but I don't always have the time. Anyways, CASTLE HAS BEEN RENEWED! OMG I'm so excited! I know Stana hasn't signed yet but I really hope she does and I'm glad they said they wouldn't be killing Beckett off. But I think she will sign for one more season and if she does, there are gonna be Caskett babies! I just know it! Thanks for all the reviews and follows and favorites! I never expected so many people to enjoy my story! And I tried to leave it at a cliffhanger. And I know this is a little shorter but I just thought it was a good place to end it. I don't know if it was great but tell me what you think!**

**Jenny**


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey Ryan glad your back. How was your trip?"

"Great, we found something you probably wanna see."

Kate glanced over at Alexis who was now dipping her fries in her milkshake. "Now?"

"Ya."

"I have little red with me."

"Oh, um, I can take her, you know, for practice." Ryan and Jenny were expecting their first child and Ryan was nervous out of his mind.

"Sure. We'll be over in a few." Kate said as she hung up. "Alexis?"

"Mhm?"

"We need to go. Ryan and Espo found a new clue and I need to go check it out."

"Do I have to come?"

"No, you can go hang out with Ryan. He's my other partner."

The girls eyes quickly went wide. "But- I wanna stay with you."

"I promise it will only be like 20 minutes okay? And guess what."

"What?"

"Ryan really wants to hang out with you."

"He does?"

"Ya. He's gonna have a new baby soon and he wants to know everything he can before the baby comes. Do you think you can help him?" Alexis nodded. "Great, lets go." Kate said as she got up and helped Alexis out of the chair and grasped hands.

Ryan had taken Alexis and they went back to the precinct to hang out while Kate followed Espo to the crime scene.

"Lanie just finished." Espo said as Lanie walked over.

"Cause of death seems to be strangulation. Happened recently. They body hadn't cooled. But I found this in his briefcase." Lanie said as she handed Kate a wallet. Pulling out the ID card she read 'Jason Lane'.

"No!"

"Looks like the killer wanted to take out any leads we had."

"Alright well, I think we need to find Jackson Hunt."

"I found an office with with a Jackson Hunt. I talked to the receptionist. She said he only comes so often but when he does he locks the door and sometimes doesn't come out for days"

"Alright. I'll call Ryan." Kate said as she pulled out her phone and dialed Ryan's number.

"Hey Beckett, whats up?"

"You think you can watch red a little longer?"

"Sure, did you find something?"

"Were headed over to Jackson Hunt's hotel now."

"Ya, take your time."

"Thanks."

"NYPD Open up!" Kate called as she knocked on the door.

There was a loud thud and then the clicking of the lock and the door opened.

"Mr Hunt?"

"_shit."_ He said under his breath. "Ya, thats me."

"Can we come in?"

"Not without a warrant."

"You saying you have something to hide?" Espo asked

Hunt sighed. "Come on in."

Espo and Beckett walked around. Checked behind all the paintings, brushed their hands across the wall to find any unusual bumps.

"Nothing." Espo sighed.

"Wait." Kate said as she looked down.

Espo glanced down to what she was looking at. "Nice thinking Beckett."

They pulled the rug up to find one of the floorboards was gone.

"Whats this Mr. Hunt?" Espo asked.

"Um, just a floorboard was missing, I never had the time to fix it so I just threw a carpet over it." He said almost too smoothly.

Kate began to feel around. "there's something here." She said as she pushed a button and the floor flipped under.

Kate smiled up at Espo as she took out her flashlight and began to descend down the pit of darkness. Espo watched her go down as he took his flashlight. He was going to look back before he descended the stairs. But Hunt was gone.

Espo sighed and rolled his eyes. "Beckett, he ran."

"Espo, you need to come see this."

He quickly ran down the stairs to find a large room. In one corner sat an old mini fridge and sink. In the opposite was a curtain which when pulled back revealed a toilet. And on the other side, lay a bed where someone was lying.

"Is that?"

"Thats Richard Castle."

**Hey guys, lots to talk about. Okay so first thing, this chapter is much shorter than my other chapters and I don't really know how I feel about it but I just wanted to post something and get this story moving more. I know alot of people were saying i hope its Castle so sorry to disappoint, but I did add him in the end. Originally I wasn't but I really just wanted him to be found. Second, STANA SIGNED! Omg you have no idea how freakin excited I am! Beckett will be in season 8! That means Caskett babies! Third, I changed my user name. It was castlerizzles but I wanted something a little more personal so I chose LemonIsles. Lemon is my middle name and Isles, well thats from Maura. You know, alot of people ask me if one of my siblings middle names is Lime. Its not! Anyways… I really just wanted to update. So review! I love hearing what you have to say! And did you know that there are people from over 60 countries reading! I had no idea how many people would read this but almost 6,000 have so I can't thank you guys enough! This is a lot of fun to do and I hope you guys are enjoying. I also had this idea for a one shot. I never written just a one shot, but I'm thinking about it so let me know what you think.**

**Jenny**


	6. Chapter 6

**Finally I'm back to writing! So my past chapters have always been like 1500-2000 words but I just don't know if I can be consistent with chapters that long. So the chapters lengths for the rest of this story will probably vary a lot more than they did at the beginning. **

**Disclaimer: Haven't put one in awhile but it's pretty obvious I don't own Castle cause at this point in time, there would be a little Caskett baby on the way**

* * *

"_Ya, thats Richard Castle."_

There in the corner of the dark room was Richard Castle. His head hung low and he was slumped against the wall, his arms hanging just above his head held tight by the handcuffs. His ankles were duct taped together and there was a piece over his mouth. He looked lifeless. Beckett slowly approached him as Esposito examined the rest of the room. Her hand went to his neck. It was cold. It felt like a dead body. But there was a pulse. It was light and slow, but it was there.

"He's alive." She let out along with a sigh.

"I'll call the paramedics and then we can go see if Ryan's been able to keep little red alive." Espo joked but neither laughed.

Kate began to move his head, looking for any visible scrapes. He had a bruise over his left eye and a scrape down the side of his cheek. There was dried blood on the side of his head. Looking at him from head to toe, she could see cuts all over his body. It seemed there wasn't a spot that hadn't been damaged.

Grabbing gloves Esposito held out for her, she began to unravel the tape from his legs, hoping they might be able to find prints.

Just as Beckett was placing the piece of tape in the small evidence bag Esposito held, they heard footsteps above.

"Must be the paramedics." He said as he went up to show them down to where Rick lay.

She knelt beside him and put a hand over his heart. "You're gonna be just fine." She whispered. "And your daughter is going to be so happy to see you." Thats when the realization hit her. How was she going to tell Alexis? Should she even see her father in the state he's in?

"Yo Beckett, paramedics are going to take him to the nearest hospital, we can head back to the station, try and find a lead on Hunt." Beckett just nodded. Espo grabbed her hand and lead her back up to the car. You could hear a pin drop on the ride back to the precinct.

* * *

As she and Esposito exited the elevator, she could hear the sweet sound of Alexis's laughter filling the precinct. Following the sound, she found her way to the break room where she and Ryan were sitting. Alexis glanced up.

"Kate!" She said as she ran over and threw her small arms around Kate's legs. "Did you catch the bad guy?" She asked as she let go and looked up at the detective.

"Not yet sweetie." Kate said as Alexis's smile fell. "But we found something even better." She said as the redhead quickly looked back up at her. Beckett had no idea if she should be telling her this but she knew Alexis would be hurt if she didn't right away that the found Castle.

"Did you find him?" Alexis asked quietly not wanting to get her hopes up.

"Yes we did." Alexis smile grew and she raised her arms up to Kate as she was picked up and hugged tightly. "But there's something you need to know. Your dad was gone a very long time and he isn't feeling to well so we might not be able to see him yet." Kate held her breath as she waited for Alexis to respond.

"But he's gonna be okay?"

"He'll be just fine."

"As long as he's okay, I don't care if I can't see him tonight." Alexis said as she snuggled into Beckett's shoulder.

* * *

"Yo Beckett we found some files from the PI Castle hired."

"Okay so after going over all that we found that Castle was investigating his father." Ryan stated.

"Seems like its pretty obvious he's our number one suspect." Espo replied

"I just don't understand where this guy is getting all his money from and how he was able to live off the grid without anyone knowing." Ryan stated

"Guys!" Kate called from the break room where she sat with files scattered all around her and the sleeping girls head resting in her lap. Javi and Ryan came in. "I think I found something."

"Now what?"

"I've been going over all the transactions made. Everything he's purchased under his alias and it's his apartment."

"Was that not his apartment?"

"No it was, but it's who he bought if from." The boys looked at each other, still so confused. "It says here the previous owner was a Meredith Castle." Both jaws dropped.

"Looks like we need to have another talk with her." Ryan said.

"I'll stay here with Alexis, if Rick wakes up she'll want to be the first to know." Kate said glancing down at the girl.

* * *

About an hour later, Kate heard the shrill ring of her phone. Kate reached to grab her phone not wanting to wake Alexis but the girl's eyes had already started to open. Alexis couldn't hear what was on the other end but she closed her eyes and listened.

"Detective Beckett. Oh hi Martha. Yes I was going to let you know that-... he is? It's only been six hours. Thats wonderful. Have you found a time to come back? Great, Alexis will be thrilled. Okay talk to you soon. Bye now."

Alexis's small body shot up. "He's awake?"

"He is" Kate said smiling down at the girl curled up against her.

"Can I see him?" She asks excitedly.

"Were gonna wait until your grams gets back but then you can be the first one to see him."

"Promise?"

"I promise, always." Kate said as the girls eyes slowly closed and her head rested back in Kate's lap.

**I thought this would be a good ending point and I didn't know what I would write past this. I'm sure there are some who will be very excited to get another chapter. I promise I will get back into writing soon and I will write longer chapters, cause I know I prefer that. Anyways, my Uncle did die and my parents have been the ones planning his funeral so we've been really busy. His funeral was just yesterday and it was beautiful. And bittersweet. Alot of family from out of town came so it was great to see them. But his grandson, one of my cousins, his name is Hayden hes like 6, went up during open mic and just said, "I love you papa" and it brought everyone to tears. It was so sweet! Just now that all of the waiting for him to go is over, I may be more inclined to write more. And I realised writing this, I really missed it! Thanks for all the nice comments, I love hearing from you guys!**

**~Jenny**


	7. Chapter 7

**I know that it took a little while to get this chapter up but schools started today and I just had a minor procedure done but it went well. Although apparently I was freaking out when I woke up but I don't remember that at all. Anyways, I wanted to address a comment I've been getting. It hasn't been mentioned much but a few people are saying I've been using "ya" too much. I'm sorry, it's just a habit and I know it's distracting so I'm trying not to use it much, which I think I accomplished in this chapter and the last but just remind me if I start using it too much again. And I made it a mission to finish this chapter today. Today was the first day of school so I was a little stressed but writing this really helped my de-stress …?... Anyways enjoy! R&amp;R, it gets me to write faster! Thanks for sticking with me through this dry spell of writing!**

* * *

Alexis laid in the break room crayons scattered around her, a look of concentration on her face as she worked on her drawing. Kate watched her as she awaited Martha's arrival.

When the redhead stepped off the elevator, Kate knew it was her. She began to move and Alexis watched her as she followed Kates eyes to where her grandmother was standing.

"Martha"

"Grams!" Alexis reached her first, running as fast as he little legs would carry her.

"Darling, it's so wonderful to see you!" Martha said theatrically.

Kate watched as the scene between the two played out until Martha motioned her over.

"Thank you for taking care of Alexis. You have no idea how much I appreciate it." She said.

"Oh yeah, it was no problem, really." Kate responded

"Well then, shall we go see him?" Martha asked as she glanced down at Alexis who nodded quickly. "Alright then, say goodbye Alexis."

The young girl quickly glanced up at Kate. Her eyes welled with tears. Kate squatted down to Alexis's level.

"Lexis, you want to see your dad right?" She nodded "Well, that should be a special time, for just you and your dad and your grams. He doesn't know me and I'm sure he's going to want some special time with just you"

"But you're special to me." The small redhead stated.

Kate smiled down at the girl. Grabbing her had she said, "alright then, lets go see your dad." And the three of them walked off towards the elevator.

* * *

The hospital had been a little ways of a drive. It was almost Alexis's bedtime by the time they reached the hospital so as the little girl slowly dragged herself out of the car and reached her little arms up to kate, the detective was happy to comply.

Kate and Martha signed in at the front desk and made their way to Rick's room. Alexis head rested on Kate's shoulder but once they reached Rick's room she perked up instantly, as did Rick.

The little girl squirmed to be released from Kate's grasp and the instant she set her down, she bolted for the bed where he lay. Kate stood in the corner as she watched the father daughter reunion. Martha had stayed behind to give the two of them some space and she placed a hand on Kate's shoulder.

"Thank you, for taking care of my family."

"Just doing my job" Kate smiled back.

"oh no, you didn't have to take Alexis and let her stay with you, or come here with her. You've cared about her when her family when we couldn't be here and for that I greatly thank you."

Kate smiled back as Martha let go of her shoulder and walked over and sat next to her son and granddaughter listening in as Alexis told Rick all about her adventures with Kate.

Kate sat and watched the three of them. Looking into Rick's eyes brought back memories of her mother. The time she got her book signed. The time he told her she had the most beautiful eyes and stunning smile. The time she and her father found out her mother had been murdered. But she forgot all of it the moment his eyes caught hers.

The moment his eyes found hers, it felt as though she just melted away. Everything disappeared. It was just him. She could have sworn he recognized her but that was ridiculous she thought, and then he looked away.

* * *

Almost an hour later, she was pulled out of her trance as she felt the small girl tugging at her hand.

"This is Kate daddy, shes a spy."

Kate smiled down at the young girl. "Detective," She corrected her "I work for NYPD. It's nice to see your awake Mr. Castle."

"Oh please call me Rick." He said. They stood in silence.

"I do actually need to ask you a few questions… alone." Kate said.

"Oh yes of course. C'mon Alexis, lets go get some balloons from the gift shop."

"Yes! We can get pink ones and blue ones cause those are my favorite colors…" The could hear as she and Martha walked down the hall.

"So Mr. Castle-"

"Rick."

"We think that the person that could have kidnapped you-"

"Do I know you?" He interrupted.

"Excuse me?"

"Your eyes there just beautiful and that smile. I know you from somewhere." Kate blushed. A smile spread across his face. "You're a fan aren't you?" He asked.

"Well… sort of" Kate hesitated.

"It was for my third derrick storm novel. The signing at that little bookstore across the street from Sweet Retreat." Kate didn't know what to say. How could he have remembered all this. He saw the look in her eyes. "Oh I'm not like a creepy stalker or anything I just, could never forget your face."

"Thanks, I think?" He laughed.

"I wrote down my number in your book but you never called."

"Oh yeah," Kates eyes dropped to the floor. "A lot happened after that." Kate sighed as she began to ask more questions.

* * *

Soon Alexis and Martha made their way back in, the little girl completely devoured in a bouquet of balloons.

"Look daddy, we got all of these for you!"

"Wow pumpkin."

"And this one for Kate." Alexis said as she handed Kate a purple balloon covered in little hearts. "I know purple is your favorite color, and I wanted to thank you for letting me stay with you."

"Of course Alexis, anytime." Kate said as she scooped the child up and hugged her tight.

"Well I have got to go unpack my stuff, I was so nice to meet you Katherine." Martha said as she surprised Kate with a hug. "I'll see you back home." She said placing a kiss on top of the small childs head. "And Richard." She just sighed as she kissed him and made her way out.

Alexis made her way up on to the hospital bed and looked between the two adults. "What were you guys talking about when Grams and I left."

"About who kidnapped him" Kate said

"Where we meet before." Rick said at the same time.

"You've met Kate before daddy?" Alexis said as her eyes grew wide.

"Yes, before you were born."

"Why did I never meet Kate?"

"Because we only saw each other once and then didn't stay in touch." Kate said wrapping up this topic about to change the subject when Rick started to talk.

"I told Kate she had beautiful eyes and an amazing smile." Rick said as he stared at Kate.

"So why didn't you marry her?" Alexis asked. Kate choked back a cough and Rick just laughed.

"Because I didn't know her."

"Well you should marry her." Alexis said as Kate stood their unknowing of what to say.

"And why's that?" Rick asked as he smiled at Kate.

"Because she's pretty, she'd make the best mommy, and because you two are in love." Alexis smiled back and forth at the two wide eyed adults.

**This was kinda fluffy. Fluffier than I intended it to be…**

**-Jenny**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm so excited to get this chapter up! I've been completely overloaded with just everything. I also had some intense writers block… this is probably the third or fourth time I've tried sitting down and actually writing something. So this chapter kinda skips ahead just cause I didn't know how to start it off from that point. Thank you also for the people who have been reviewing like every chapter and asking about the next one. I know it took forever and I hate how long it's been but I finally finished this and I'm really excited to publish it so… Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

The loft door slammed open, the small redhead skipping in.

"I'm so excited you're home daddy! I can't wait to show you the pictures Katie and I drew while you were gone!"

Rick glanced back a Kate, an eyebrow raised. Kate had moved into the loft not long after Rick's disappearance since Alexis had insisted… and because she wouldn't be separated from Kate for more than a few hours, something Kate was worried about facing now that Rick was home and she would be leaving.

"Here's the rest of your stuff." Kate said as she handed Castle the beat up duffle bag Martha had brought to him while he was in the hospital, "I should get going now, we're wrapping up on a case."

"Thank you so much Beckett, what you've done for me and Alexis, it's a debt I'll never be able to repay." Kate blushed averting her eyes from him, he heart rate picking up once again. Something that she seemed unable to avoid when around him.

"Bye Katie, see you tonight!" Alexis squealed. Kate glanced at Rick.

"Honey, you know that I can't stay here forever. And now that your daddy's home, you can cuddle with him and draw with him and build forts with him." Kate said as she knelt down to be eye to eye with the young girl.

Rick came to kneel down next to Alexis once he saw the girl's eyes shimmer over with tears ready to spill in a split second. "Lex, we're gonna have so much fun together! We can talk about what you want to do for your 4th birthday!"

Castle regretted mentioning it the moment it came out of his mouth. "No! Katie and I already came up with what I wanna do!" Alexis stated as her little face reddened in anger

As Alexis glanced up at her father, Kate thought this was the best time to escape but as she stood up to do so, she felt a little had wrap around her leg as another reached up to be held.

As she glanced back at him, Rick saw her desperate eyes. He knew she didn't want to break Alexis's heart.

"Come here Alexis." He said as he pulled her from Kate's leg. That's when the tears started to fall.

"Alexis I promise, I will be back tonight for dinner and then I can tuck you in and maybe we can figure out a plan so that we can see each other, okay? Please don't cry." She said as she came over and took Alexis out of his arms.

That's the moment he felt it. The racing heart as he watched her with Alexis. This is what he wanted the rest of his life to be like. If only she wanted it too.

* * *

Once Kate's work day was over she made her way over to Castle's apartment. Somewhat late but she knew he would understand, not so sure the little redhead would.

Almost the second she knocked the door swung open and the little girl ran full force into Kate's legs.

"Katie I missed you so much! Daddy can't make the fort as good as you, he always knocks it over when he crawls in!" Alexis kept rambling on about her day but Kate stopped paying attention as she caught Rick in the kitchen, earbuds in, standing at the stove stirring dinner while swaying back and forth to whatever song he was listening to.

"Katie?!"

"What yeah?" Kate said as she was pulled back into reality. "What were you saying."

"I was telling you that daddy and I made spaghetti for dinner."

"Mmm you know I love spaghetti." She smiled

"That's why I made it! Daddy!" She said as she ran over to Rick gaining his attention as she pulled at his hand. "Katie's here!"

Rick quickly pulled the earbuds out and swiveled around to see Kate bending down to take her shoes off, her back turned. He gazed at how beautiful she was as stood back up and her hair flipped.

"Hey" She said sheepishly

"Hi, ready for dinner?" He said comfortably, breaking the ice.

"I'm starving." She giggled as they all took their seats.

* * *

He watched her as she read to Alexis, making all the different voices, carefully standing up and pulling the covers over Alexis, placing monkey bunkey next to her knowing the girl would wake up in a fit if she couldn't find him. Placing a kiss to her forehead she turned around and their eyes meet.

Smiling and quickly glancing down Kate walked over to Rick and they walked downstairs. She sat down on the couch while he went to grab two glasses of wine.

"Thanks." She said as he handed her a glass.

"So, we need to talk." He started.

"Right, I know that it could get weird with the whole dinner arrangement, especially if there are other people so I was thinking maybe I could take her to the park or something every weekend-"

"No"

"Okay um, maybe I could pick her up from school or something if that works better."

"No Kate, I didn't mean we needed to talk about Alexis."

"Oh, okay? What did you want to talk about?" Kate asked as she folded her legs under her and took another sip of wine.

"Us." He said as he waited on edge for her reaction.

She swallowed and glanced up at him. "If you mean the thing Alexis said at the hospital, she's just a little girl, I didn't tell her to say anything."

"I know." He stated, "But I can't help but think about what she said."

"Which part?" Kate asked hesitantly

"When she said we love each other."

Kate giggled "Oh well I do love you." She said as Rick's eyes widened. "Your books got me through so much. You're an amazing author."

"So that's all it is?" He asked

"I mean, we're friends right?"

"Yeah" He said as his voice fell.

"Well thanks for dinner. We can talk about when we want to do it again?" Kate asked as she stood up anxious to get home and out of this conversation.

"Wait Kate." Rick said as he pulled her into his arms.

Their lips now only inches apart, she could feel his breath on her face. Her heart began to race.

Leaning in her lips locked with his. At first they both looked at each other but the moment his eyes closed and his head tilted, she melted into him.

* * *

**I know it's quick but… I couldn't resist**

**-Jenny**


	9. Chapter 9

Haven't felt much in the mood for Castle fanfics after last season and all the rumors that went around after the shows ending but I'm back and I've been reading over the last few chapters and decided why not try writing another one!

Kate left faster ran faster than the speed of light out of that apartment. She had promised herself she couldn't get into a relationship with him. She had to keep her feelings to herself, for Alexis. She knew it would break that little girl heart if things didn't work out for them.

She didn't call him the next day. Or the next day, or the next day.

Rick was getting impatient and so was the red head. So mustering up the courage he picked up the phone and called her.

The phone rang for what felt like hours until she picked up. "Rick."

"Kate" They sat for a few minutes until she broke the silence, "I'm sorry about the other night."

"No Kate, don't be sorry, I know I'm not." Rick said smiling from the other end.

"Stop, we can't do this. Think about Alexis Rick!"

"I am. This wouldn't be such a bad thing Kate, think about it."

"Yeah I have. Rick if this didn't work out, it would break Alexis heart."

"But Kate, think about if this did work. Alexis would have you as a mom, you can fill that void that Meredith left. In her and me. I think we could do this Kate. And even if we didn't work out, which let's be honest I won't let that happen, Alexis can still see you. You can still be a part of her life!"

Kate sighed. She was so tempted to say yes. "Rick I like you a lot and I want to say yes but I just can't. Everyones gonna know right away and I don't want to deal with that."

"Then it's just you and me. Nobody has to know. We don't even have to tell Alexis or mother yet."

Kate laughed. "Yeah like you'd be able to keep this a secret. Plus Alexis would sense something was different."

"She already has Kate. She doesn't understand why you left. Now stop making excuses. Let's go to the Hamptons together. We can start there. It's private and well be alone-"

Kate felt too overwhelmed. "Rick stop. I'll do dinner. Pick me up at 8? Then we can talk about the Hamptons."

"You know, I always thought that'd be a great wedding destination someday"

"Castle"

"Maybe a honeymoon"

"Castle"

"Or where we could vacation with all our kids-"

"Castle!"

"Sorry what?"

"Lets focus on dinner. See you at 8" Kate said punctually, quickly hanging up the phone and flopping down on her bed. She could not believe what she had gotten herself into.

8 o'clock came faster than expected as she stood in front of her closet staring at the ocean of clothes in front of her. Carefully pulling out her favorite black dress she slipped it on along with a pair of black pumps and one of her mothers necklaces.

She was shook out memories of her mother as the doorbell rang.

Sighing, she smoothed out the non-existent wrinkles in her dress and made her way to the front door.

Opening it, she found herself face to face with a bouquet of white lilies. She smiled as the man behind lowered the flowers exposing that silly boyish grin. She couldn't help but smile as he handed her the flowers.

"Rick thank you, you really didn't have too."

"Ah just my way of saying thank you, for taking care of Alexis. And a sneak peek as to what I have to offer in the relationship." He said with a smirk.

"Shall we go then?" She said with a sigh.

He had taken her to a little Italian place. Dimly lighted and private, they sat in the back of the restaurant in a booth, her back to the windows. Probably for the paparazzi, she thought. The idea of being talked about in tabloids scared the crap out of her but she knew that Rick would try to prevent that at all costs as he so graciously respected her privacy.

Sitting down, the waiter arrived instantaneously, placing down a bottle of chateau margaux. Her eyes widened at the sophisticated expensive choice of the seemingly childish mystery writer.

Taking a sip she closed her eyes enjoying the taste as the wine sat in her mouth. Swallowing, she looked up to see Castle staring back at her. She smiled at him as he smiled back.

"So" She started, "Are you considering this a date, because really Castle I don't think we should rush things all too much."

"I know what you think Kate. I'm sure you've read the tabloids, heard rumors about me, but I'm hoping that you can learn the real me. And as for rushing into things, we don't have to. We can go slow, nobody has to even know were dating. Except Alexis of course, she should give us her blessing, which knowing how much she adores you, shouldn't be problem." Kate sheepishly smiled glancing down contemplating whether it was cute or weird that he required his 5 year old daughters permission to date.

"I appreciate that Castle. I really don't want to rush anything. I'm only 22, I just finished academy and this is my first year in homicide. I feel like I'm still getting my life together."

"Then we'll go slow. I just want to give this a try. I'm not getting any younger here, I'm almost 30 and I don't want to wait. I really like you Kate I just can't help but imagine the life we could have together."

Kates breath caught in her throat. She had never seen herself as someone who would settle down so young. Not to mention someone much older, and with a child that could practically be her sister. Her life was taking an unexpected turn and her heart was screaming for her to jump in the deep end and take a chance on the relationship she could have. After her split from Josh she never wanted to start dating until she felt confident in herself. But Rick was different. He seemed to accept her for who she truly was and hadn't tried to change her. Looking up at him she leaned over the table and placed a soft kiss on his lips. She felt him melt into her and felt his tongue meet hers. Pulling back she smiled up at him and said "Let's do it."

The look on his face said it all and the rest of dinner went off without a hitch. She talked with him about her mother, something she had never so openly shared, but it was easy with him. They talked about his relationship with Meredith and his mother and about his books, about which Kate loved hearing. And by the time they were done, the waiters were stacking up chairs getting ready to kick them out of the restaurant. Looking down at her phone she realized it was quarter to midnight.

"Rick, we really should get going, it's almost midnight."

"Man how the time flies." He said as he stood up offering his hand to her.

They walked out to the car that was waiting and she followed him in.

What Rick said next had her lost for words. "How about we spend the night at my place." Her face pale, she glanced up at him. "Oh kate, no not like that." The giggled nervously. "Alexis and my mother will be waiting up. I just thought, you have work tomorrow and my place is so much closer to the precinct, you could just sleep over. Some of your stuff is still at the house."

Closing her eyes for a second she blurted out a small "Yes" and they made their way to the loft.

Entering his place, she was greeted with the loudness of the two redheads, oblivious to the fact that Kate was still there, rush up to Castle bombarding him with questions. It wasn't until he glanced over at her that they realized who he had come home with.

"Kate!" The little one shouted reaching her arms up towards her.

"Hey there sweet-pea" Kate said as she leaned down scooping the little girl in her arms. Rick smiling at the naturalness of her gesture.

"So Alexis" Rick started as he smoothed a hand over the little ones hair. "How would you feel about Kate staying her. Not just tonight, but more often and maybe becoming daddy's special someone?" Kate smiled as she noted the innocence kept in his statement.

Alexis gasped. "Like you guys would kiss and stuff?"

"Maybe sometimes." Rick stated with a straight face.

"Yes, yes yes yes yes daddy!" Alexis shouted as she hugged her small arms around Kate's neck.

"Oh Richard this is wonderful!" Martha explained as she hugged her son. "It's about time you asked!"

Kate laughed at the older womans remark and smiled as she came to the realization of the fear and excitement that this night of a new relationship had brung forth.

**Okay so I didn't really know how to end it, I just wanted to keep writing but I hope it ended okay. I'm really excited to write again and I'm so excited to see what you guys have to say! Still not 100% sure where this is going but I figure wing it and everything should work out haha! I will write again soon, probably this weekend so stay tuned!**

**-Jenny**


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